Good weekend with Pop at Brian Head, but he decided to back off the motos. The Vulcan 900 looked "daunting" in the garage, and the ATVs looked fun. Pop and the girlfriend both got on the ATVs and had a great time.
She was an ATV newbie, so at age 62, this was a big accomplishment. Pop was so proud.

The fall colors at high elevation were starting to shine. The next few weeks will be primetime. Gorgeous. Go for elevation, inmates, if you can.

Bonus: Name that diner . . . on the long way back from Brian Head (to St. George) we stopped for food & drink. Lunch on me for the first inmate to name the restaurant/location. Did you try the pie?

Pop wanted to stop here. He liked the sign

Home of the Ho Made Pies. Great thread. I love riding Southern Utah. Beats the brown dirt and rocks we have here in Vegas.

Good stuff RedRockRider. Most of your photos look familiar from past rides I've been on. I usually leave a couple of bikes in St. George during the colder months so my wife and I can go there and ride if the skiing/snowboarding isn't so great up north. Needless to say, I've not managed much riding in your area the past couple of winters, even though the bikes have been there.

If the weather forecast is correct for next weekend, I may have to head south though. We aren't far from the your area. Silver Creek, just south and east of the Dixie/Sunset intersection.

Home of the Ho Made Pies. Great thread. I love riding Southern Utah. Beats the brown dirt and rocks we have here in Vegas.

Thanks, Scribe. Yeah, St. George area has great riding. I was in Brian Head over the weekend. Lots of guys from the Las Vegas area around. They all love to get out of the heat during the summer, and do outdoor stuff -- mostly dirtbikes, ATVs, and in winter, snow machines.

Will post up a few pics of fall foliage shortly. At 10,000 ft. colors are at peak, and will fade fast. At slightly lower elvevations next 1-2 weeks will be prime season.

Hey Inmates -- spent the past weekend at Brian Head. At high elevation, fall colors are at their peak!!!

Hiking and ATV riding with family, then I cruised around a bit on the Vulcan 900. Rode it back down to St. George via Cedar Breaks (UT 148) and Cedar Canyon (UT 14) down to Cedar City, then back to St. George on I-15. Still have the Versys at Brian Head. Some good riding time up high (but not much). Will want to get this bike back to St. George also before snow. No need to have the V at Brian Head during winter.

On to the bike pics in a minute . . . first . . . the weather was blustery, on and off through the weekend. But, the fall colors are in full glory.

Here is a shot from our condo balcony after a passing squall -- hail included. You can just see the tower for the Navajo chairlift on the left horizon. Open hillside is part of Wildflower ski run.

Spent some tome in nearby Duck Creek. Just fyi for inmates, a nice (small) Yamaha shop and reliable gas. Duck Creek also has food and assorted lodging -- all quite "rustic" as my wife says.

Awesome fall colors Along with a family friend, this was the main event for the weekend.

On to the biking. The 2009 Vulcan 900 LT. 100% stock. Very nicely equipped for asphalt cruising.

Yours truly, sporting the good guy white helmet. Face shield down to protect against cold blast.

Open road with fall colors, ascending up out of Brian Head (towards Cedar Breaks) in late afternoon light. Chairlift towers on left horizon. "Dot" on top of Brian Head Peak is Summit House, photo in Post #10, p. 1 of this thread.

Cedar Breaks from Point Supreme (visitor center) just before sunset.

Turning right, going down Cedar Canyon to Cedar City and St. George. Highly recommend the asphalt loop from Cedar City up UT 14 to Cedar Breaks National Monument, then through Brian Head and down Parowan Canyon. 5000+ ft of elevation gain in relatively short distance. Great curves. Awesome scenery. Very easy to extend this trip in many directions, and also to incorporate significant dirt. Good to be street legal because hard to piece together some of the best bits without touching asphalt.

Ride safe, inmates. Here is a final pic of the Vulcan at the top of Cedar Canyon.

Needless to say, the final leg down I-15 to St. George was in the dark. No problem. The Vulcan cruises 70-80 mph very comfortably. Kind of fun to be tucked in behind that big ol' windshield and feel the air gradually warm as elevation drops away.

Thanks for ridin' along and all the positive comments. Get out and go!

Good stuff RedRockRider. Most of your photos look familiar from past rides I've been on. I usually leave a couple of bikes in St. George during the colder months so my wife and I can go there and ride if the skiing/snowboarding isn't so great up north. Needless to say, I've not managed much riding in your area the past couple of winters, even though the bikes have been there.

If the weather forecast is correct for next weekend, I may have to head south though. We aren't far from the your area. Silver Creek, just south and east of the Dixie/Sunset intersection.

I pass by Silver Creek every day after driving my son's carpool to school. Right by the start of the bike path also. Looks nice from the outside. Here is a tribute shot taken earlier today as I headed out on a ride with Dad.

And a few pics from the ride. Will post up shortly. Here's the preview. Note the sky . . .

I guess I need to add to my TAT report since we rode more of it this summer. I'll let you know when I get south. I was thinking about it this weekend, but I'm not ready to figure out which bike to leave there for winter...

Just curious, a few years back the Santa Clara river raised havoc taking out house's and lots of property. Were you affected? I believe Sunbrook lost a few holes in flood.

Hey Sam -- You know St. George! Sunbrook is "across" (Green Valley) from my house (Shadow Mtn). We are high on the hill. My backyard goes up on the Black Hill. You can climb it and look down on the "old" airport. Southgate is the golf course down by the Santa Clara River. Most of the front nine got wrecked up by floods a year or two ago. All put back together now. I'll post up a few pics in a day or two.

Great ride with Dad today. The weather in St. George has been a bit rainy (unusual). Today looked reasonable . . . and the cleaning ladies were coming. (It's Thursday.) Time to go!!!

Let's get to the pics. All rides start with gas. Good to top off, never know where you might go. We like the Maverick at the end of Indian Hills Drive. $5 buys a whole lotta fun.

For inmates following along, here's the map. A loop from the west side of St. George to Bloomington (on pavement, 3 miles), the dirt up to Blakes Lambing Grounds, the Utah side of the Virgin River Overlook, a high traverse road above Cedar Pockets Wash, drop down into Mine Valley (near Apex Mine), then out on the Scenic Backway (known locally as the Apex Mine Road). Hit pavement again on Old Highway 91 and return to St. George via Ivins and Santa Clara. Whole loop is about 40 miles. Very scenic. Great views down to St. George, across to Pine Valley Mtn (fresh snow today), and the red cliffs of Ivins. From many parts of this ride you can actually look down and see my house if you know where to look. The ride is relatively easy dirt except a few spots up high near the Virgin River Gorge. Mostly rocky, not much mud.

In Bloomington, look for Navajo Drive -- also a Mountain Biking area.

Inmates all like this sign -- the beginning of dirt. Only 10 minutes in . . .

Crossing the cattle gate . . . it's Utah, uh Utardia.

Dad on his Honda -- the perfect bike for him. And really a great bike for this kind of riding. Very maneuverable. Red cliffs of Bloomington just behind Dad. Lots of locals do target shooting in this area. And drink beer.

Some water in the road from recent rains, but easily avoided. Very little mud, mostly rock. Up high, some danger of washouts after large rain storms.

Dad working his way west, systematically gaining elevation. Note the sky -- nice and bright early in the day. It will turn ominous. We donned rain gear, but didn't really get wet. Very dramatic skies to come.

Signs. Gotta take a photo.

Clownin' around with Dad. Takin' a ADV-style pic . . .

Me and the WRR -- a great bike. Still sunny.

About halfway up to the Virgin River Gorge overlook. A few steeper spots with some loose gravel, all manageable. Pine Valley Mountain, now covered with clouds in background. West side of St. George below.

A few artsy, fartsy shots. We are now up in Blakes Lambing Grounds (small red lines on map), still some elevation gain to go. Big views all the back to Sand Hollow and the cliffs of Zion National Park in distance. Can start to see the edge of the Virgin River Gorge.

Power lines are the reasons for some of these dirt roads. Looking west (direction of travel). Sky is clear.

Several little intersections up here. No signs. Garmin also doesn't really work. Just have to explore. I have been on just about every track in the area. Today's ride was all territory we have done before (many times). If you don't know which way to turn at these intersections, you can get dead-ended.

You could get lost or ledged out. I've been up here once or twice after dark. Every ride report should feature a mirror shot and the ADV salute. Cheers, inmates!

Gathering clouds. Fantastic views. Havin' a great time with Dad. Crossing one of the last cattle gates.

Up high. Red cliffs of Ivins in background.

Dad approaching the Virgin River Gorge Overlook. On the map, this is just past the part I highlighted. Still very doable. Other overlook spots are trickier.

At the overlook. Have seen Rocky Mountain Sheep at this exact spot. They drop down the cliff-like sides into Cedar Pockets Wash as soon as the motos appear.

RedRockRider arrives.

And the photo with no helmet. I-15 is barely visible 2000-3000 ft. below. You can hear the trucks. Today, the Virgin River was more noticeable -- murky brown with lots of run-off.

Me and Dad. No helmets!!!

Time to go. Gettin' cloudy. Now we are looking north. On the map, we'll travel along a high traverse road above Cedar Pockets Wash, eventually dropping down into Mine Valley, the Apex Mine Road.

Dad leaving the overlook.

Dark clouds below.

Still in sun, but stopping to put on raingear. It was looking ominous!

We were in good spirits with the darkening clouds. Great light.

On the high traverse road. Heading into the storm. Distant lightening strikes.

Jarvis Peak. Know locally as "Utah hill" -- very visible from western St. George.

Dad riding down into the storm.

Two of me. Good to have Dad along to take the photos. Thanks, Dad.

Last shot of the bike before dropping down into Mine Valley -- very near the Apex Mine.

Dad descending. Notice the trees. Some primitive campsites in this area.

On the Apex Mine Road. We are warm. Still no real rain, only a light, occasional squall. Still looks threatening!

During a break in the clouds you can see down to St. George. The low, flat, black mesa in the sun (just above the bike mirrors) is the Black Hill behind Shadow Mountain. My neighborhood is visible at the base of the hill.

A second shot, looking east, back down to St. George. Pine Valley mountain hidden in clouds.

Look closely. Dad descending with the White Hills as background. In sunny weather, this is spectacular.

Some clearing. We can see the cliffs of Ivins as we approach the Shivwits Indian Reservation and the end of the Apex Mine Road.

Leaving the Scenic Backway. Like all good ADVers, we stopped and took a pic of the sign (from the wrong direction). This is a great road and can be easily taken over Bulldog Pass and out to the pavement of Old Highway 91 south of Castle Cliff. Highly recommended!

At the same time, you enter the Shivwits Indian Reservation. Easy to see line on map. Nice bullet holes in sign.

Final pics on dirt. Dad approaching. Storm behind him to South.

From same spot, Dad passing and going North. Clear, sunny skies. We got lucky. No rain. Great skies. Great ride.

Final shot of my bike on dirt with storm clouds still hovering over Jarvis Peak (Utah Hill) in distance.

There is an abandoned processing facility once associated with the Apex Mine just several hundred yards from Old Highway 91. Facility is fenced with no trespassing signs, and also on Indian reservation land.

The intersection with Old Highway 91. From here it is a fast 20-30 minutes back into St. George via Ivins and Santa Clara.

Final artistic shots. Mostly to show the clear skies!!!

Chasin' Dad down the hill home. Always good to get an "idiot" shot, taking while moving at speed. Ride safe fellow inmates. Do some version of this ride if you can. Well worth your time.